slow cooker recipes

Slow Cooker Roast Beef or Lamb!!
(Generally feed family of 2 adults 2 children)

WHAT YOU WILL NEED:

Olive Oil
Nice cut of roasting meat - be it Lamb or Beef. (Whatever cut you prefer to roast)
2-3 Large Brown Onions
3-5 Cloves of Fresh Garlic
2-4 Large Potatoes (or 5-8 small ones if you need them to go round the family better- its based on what will fit in the bottom of your slow cooker best)
Masterfoods Roast lamb seasoning
Masterfoods Roast Vegetable sprinkle

HOW TO DO IT:

Turn Slow Cooker on to MED/HIGH so it can heat up.

Firstly, slice your onions and put into fry pan.

Then after peeling the Garlic, thinly slice garlic into "little garlic slabs".

Peel your potatoes, and place at the bottom of the slow cooker- sprinkle the Roast Veg sprinkle all over them.

Cut off any excess fat on the cut of meat.

Put onions and olive oil on low to brown while your tending to the meat.

With a small bladed knife, put lots of deep stabs into the meat ALL around it, on all sides, top and bottom.

Then place the slabs of garlic into each hole. Pushing it far in so they don't fall out.

Now brown all sides of the roast in the fry pan with the onion, ensuring not to cook it too much. You just want to seal the meat. While doing this sprinkle some of the lamb roast herbs over each side of the meat, as well as some salt.

Once all browned, put the roast meat into the slow cooker on top of the potatoes, and tip the onions and any oils into the slow cooker as well.

Sprinkle a good amount of the roast lamb/meat onto the meat. And a good shake of salt.

Have it on Med/High for a couple of hours, then depending on how it looks put it on auto.

After a few hours you may find it is full of water/fat/oil. This can be a fantastic sign of the type of butcher you get your meat from. Some butchers fill their meat with water, to make it weigh more. This will show when roasting in a slow cooker. You will need to remove excessive water.

I generally leave it (water) in there if it doesn't really go very high on the meat, as it continues to cook it will get reabsorbed into the meat making it very tender. But if the meat is quite submerged in the water then you will need to use a ladle or something to remove some until the meat is only partially in the water. You wanna be able to see the tops of the spuds at least.

The cooking can take anywhere between 7 and 9 hours. It totally depends how big of a bit of roast meant you have.

You generally do need to be checking in on this one every few hours... especially towards the end. When the moisture in the slow cooker is basically all gone or just partially around the potatoes, it can be now you put your oven roasted vegies on such as onions, pumpkin, mushrooms, carrot etc into the oven.

Steamed greens, corn etc go on depending on how you like them of course.

The meat is ready when using a pair of tongs you can VERY easily pull some of the meat of the top and taste it and it tastes good!! If there is any resistance in it, then it still needs a bit more time.Also, ensure with a knife by poking, that the potatoes are soft all the way through.

Once your meat is ready, chuck the greens on. (other roasted vegies should be basically done by now too)

Pull the meat out onto a carving place, and start carving it up. Remove potatoes from slow cooker (they will just melt and don't necessarily look great but OMG they melt in your mouth with flavor.)

Using the juices in the slow cooker, you do up some gravy. (everyone has their own way, if you wanna know how i do it yell out and ill tell you)... but the gravy will then have all the flavors of the meat, onions etc in it....

SERVE!!!

crock pot chicken.

my spag bol.

sausage casserole

lamb stew

Diamonds Slow Cooker Spaghetti Bolognese!!
(Makes generally enough for 2 meals for a Family of 4. Freeze left overs and it is delicious with mash spud and some green vegies. Or as a bolognese again with pasta or Lasagna )

WHAT YOU WILL NEED:

Olive Oil
800gms-1kg appx. Premium Beef Mince
2 Large Brown Onions
4-5 Cloves of Fresh Garlic
2 Large Carrots
10-15 Small/Med Mushrooms

1 Jar of Raguletto (red wine one- but im sure you could use whatever one you wanted)
2 Can of Heinz spicy Tomato Soup
1-2 Cans of diced or whole tomato's (any brand i usually get whatever is on special & often use one of each- diced and whole)
Maggi Sweet Chilli sauce
Hoys Bay Leaves
Masterfoods "Spaghetti Bolognese" herbs

HOW TO DO IT:

Firstly- spag bol is ALL ABOUT THE MEAT!! To get a delicious spaghetti bolognese you MUST ensure the meat is cooked to perfection- the rest of it is just icing.

Start in the morning- time up to you.

Chop the onions and garlic. I like my onions to be in rings, but you could dice them. And the garlic i grate using the fine part of my grater.
Peel the carrots & grate them.
Slice mushrooms.
Drain canned tomato's- so you only have the tomato's.

Start in a BIG saucepan or equivalent, brown the onion with some olive oil. Once almost browned slowly add the mince. I am very particular with this, i break it up with my fingers as i am putting it into the pan, and then with my flat sided wooden spoon i continue to break it up as it cooks. You need to ensure all lumps are broken up completely. This is a bit tedious BUT trust me, it will pay off.

At this stage add a approx one teaspoon of the finely grated garlic, but a good 2 teaspoons of the spag bol herbs. Keep kneading the mince with your spoon/instrument.

It is vital that any excess fat is removed as your cooking the mince, if you have been lucky enough to get real premium mince, you shouldn't have too much but you will always end up with some that needs to be removed.

This is easy; hold the pot/saucepan etc to one side, with a deep spoon or ladle scoop the juice/fat out (i always just put some paper towel into the tray the mince came in, scoop the fat into that and then it is absorbed and can go into the bin- no good for your sink!)

Ok so continue browning the mince, add the rest of the garlic. (we don't add it all at the start because a lot of it will be wasted when removing the oil/fat). Add another spoon of the spag bol herbs.

Keep browning until you can put your nose over the cooking mince and really favor the smell. It has to have a yummy smell about it- that cooking meat smell must not be present. Once you get that smell then your well on your way.

Now, add carrots, and mix into the mince.

(AT THIS POINT TURN SLOW COOKER ON TO HIGH)

Add the Raguletto Jar, and both cans of soup, and canned tomato's.

Mix through the mushrooms.

Give it a good stir through, add a few shakes of salt.

Now, is the secret ingredient that seriously makes all the difference- the Sweet Chili sauce. Obviously the more you add the hotter the spag bol will be. Because i have young kids, i only add probably a tablespoon or a tad more. But it is VERY nice if you add a bit more too it, just very hot. The tablespoon with not make it a hot spag bol at all, it just gives it an oooomph! of flavor.

ESSENTIAL- add appx a good finger pinch full of bay leaves.

Give the mixture a really good stir, another shake of salt.

Put it on LOW for approx 20 minutes- give or take, stiring occasionally.

Taste, and you may need to add bit more salt. But by this point it should taste quite nice.

Once it taste's quite nice (almost like you could eat it now), its time to put it in the slow cooker.

Tip into slow cooker, put it on auto and leave it to simmer away for the rest of the day.

I normally start this around 9.30 so it would be in the slow cooker by 10am, and then serve between 5pm-6pm that evening.

It can be good to stir occasionally throughout the day- however- there has been times when i haven't been home and it is fine!!!

Then, come time with its ready for dinner time, turn the slow cooker off- it lets the bolognese rest - while your pasta or mash is cooking away.

SERVE!!

Hope some of you enjoy this one- as you can tell- its a passion of mine!